Sometime Around Midnight: Rise of Miakegata
by LoveHate Ultimatum
Summary: Konoha has been rebuilt after ten years of pain. People have grown up, and new bonds have been formed. Some, broken. All will change when a new organization that pars with Akatsuki, threatens Konoha and its existance. NaruSaku, lemons later. Enjoy!
1. No Spell

**Sometime****Around**** Midnight**

**xXLHUXx**

**.:: Summary ::.**

**It's been ten years since the Akatsuki epic that changed Konoha forever. The Konoha Nine are more powerful, skilled, and mature than their early years, especially two in particular. Love, hate, and an amazing ultimatum could change the course of everyone's destiny in a snap of a finger.**

**Pairing****: Naruto and Sakura**

**Genre****: Drama/Romance**

_Sometime Around Midnight – Installment I: Prologue/No Spell_

**CLINK! CHING!**

The sudden sounds of metal clashing against metal sounded throughout the training grounds near Training Field 44, or the Forest of Death as people know it more commonly. Birds flew away in a cluster in fear of the tones, and leaves fell as they departed.

Heavy breathing could be heard; and more sounds of metal. It was loud, which meant that something intense was going down. In the field, a blond haired shinobi known as Naruto Uzumaki, rushed towards a brown haired shinobi with a kunai, named Kiba Inuzuka. Naruto had cerulean blue eyes that were like jubilant sapphires that shined in the sun's rays; his spiky blond hair matching well with the jewels. Kiba, on the other hand, had a mix of black and brown eyes, which were slits at times; maybe it was his clan's animalistic features that were found in most Inuzukas, but that's the way they were. Naruto was about four or five inches taller than Kiba, being six feet, four inches tall, and the Inuzuka being five feet, ten inches tall.

As the battle progressed, so did the change in weather. It went from calm winds to humid ones that bothered both shinobi uncomfortably. Kiba blocked Naruto's oncoming kunai attack, pushing his own kunai against the other, and forced him back with his own strength. Naruto slid, coming to a halt a few feet away from Kiba, and he smirked; standing up straight, Naruto began to speak.

"Wanna take a break for today?" He asked, rubbing his forehead of all the sweat that had gather from the training.

Kiba laughed, and pocketed his kunai, "You tired already," he teased, "I thought you'd last longer than that!" Naruto rolled his eyes, and sat down on a stump that was near some bushes. Naruto shook his head, "Well, the weather changed really fast…that usually means something." He said, and Kiba shook his head in disagreement, "You are just imagining things," taking a seat as well, "you've been doing that a lot lately."

Naruto nodded, knowing it was true. He had been getting a lot of different feelings lately. But it didn't bother him too much. With a slight yawn, Naruto stood, stretching his arms.

"Well, it was nice training with you, as always." He said, walking towards his long-time friend. Kiba nodded, standing, "Likewise," he said, cracking his knuckles and neck, "can you believe it's been ten years?" Kiba questioned, and Naruto looked downwards a bit, in thought.

"It's hard to." Naruto responded, and Kiba shrugged, "See ya later. Come on Akamaru!" He yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. A gigantic, white dog bounded out of the bushes, and sat laid down next to Kiba. Akamaru had been Kiba's companion since he was a little kid; they had been together since. Kiba hopped on Akamaru's back, and waved at Naruto. Naruto waved back, and started walking in the direction of his apartment complex.

Konohagakure had really changed; drastically. Ever since Pein, the leader of Akatsuki, had destroyed all of Konoha, things were redesigned in many ways and repaired. The Hokage tower had been filled with seven heads: the First and Second Hokages, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, the Sixth and Seventh Hokages, Danzo and Kakashi Hatake. Naruto awaited many years for the position of Hokage, always seeming to be passed up because of one reason: He was a Jinchurriki.

Sure, he had saved the village from Pein and Akatsuki, with the help of his father and newly formed Toad Sage powers, but the factor remained; it was dangerous giving control of a village to a Jinchurriki. Naruto felt that was the only reason, and hoped that the elders would see past that and see his true potential. Being twenty-six now, he felt that it was soon to be time for his turn to have his head carved onto the gargantuan mountain.

Naruto dragged himself along the sidewalk of Konoha, being worn out from the excessive training that had progressed for hours. He had his hands in his pockets, and his eyes forward. Villagers that passed by would wave at him, and smiled. Naruto returned the smile or occasional wave, but really wanted to hurry and get home. He wasn't a Gennin anymore, but a full-fledged, official Sannin or Sage of Konoha, and he was proud of his title; anything was better than Gennin, to be honest. As Naruto finally reached his apartment door, he proceeded to take out his key, to see something pinned to his door with a shurriken.

'_Another thing I have to repair…'_ Naruto thought, pulling the note off. He read it:

_Dear Naruto,_

_Kakashi-sensei said he needs to see you tomorrow at his office. He also wanted Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji, and Ino. Of course me too, but most importantly, he wanted you there. I suspect it must be something REALLY crucial that he wants you there the most. Anyways, don't be late tomorrow! 7 AM sharp, okay?_

_Sincerely,_

_Sakura_

Naruto sighed, and put a hand through his hair, dodging his hitai-ate on his head; Naruto crumpled up the note, and opened his door. Slamming the door, Naruto kicked off his black ninja sandals, and walked across his wooden paneled floors; his warm feet meeting the cool, wood. The blond walked into the open kitchen, and opened his plain-white refrigerator. It had pictures that were held on there with magnets. One picture showed Naruto at his Sannin graduation ceremony. He had taken the picture with Sakura, who had given him his second hug; the ones that he wished had gotten when he was younger. Naruto chuckled a bit, and looked at few other pictures.

The second one he saw made him frown. It was the Team Seven picture that they had taken when they passed Kakashi's Gennin Exam. Sakura was in the middle with a slight blush on her face, while Naruto was being held by Kakashi's left hand, Sasuke being held with his right hand. It was a comical photo, and Naruto sighed. He could never talk to Sakura the same after what had happened…

_Flashback_

_**In the Iron…**_

_**The Kages were about to rage into a battle, until a loud and huge explosion blew through the wall. Three ninja flew in; and Gaara recognized them immediately.**_

"_**Suuigetsu…Karin…Juugo…" He mused, his eyes furrowing a bit at the sight of Team Hawk in the presence of all Kage. The Raikage growled, and yelled.**_

"_**What is the meaning of this!?" **_

_**Suuigetsu smirked, showing his shark like teeth, and laughed, "So foolish…I'm surprised you don't know the meaning of this." Karin adjusted her glasses, "And I'm quite surprised you guys haven't found our fourth member yet." Gaara's eyes widened, and he didn't move; but he did move his eyes around the room.**_

_**Was Sasuke already inside?! And if so, for how long…**_

_**Juugo kept his nonchalant frown, and looked at all the Kages, "He's been here the whole time." That's when the room darkened, and everyone turned to see Sasuke Uchiha, the missing nin from Konoha, crouched on the ground. His hand was consumed with lightning chakra; but it didn't look like a Chidori. It was something new.**_

_**Danzo laughed, "Perfect. I can get the job done without even having my ninja do it!" He said, and Sasuke smirked, "Are you saying you are going to kill me?" He asked, his voice monotone. Danzo nodded, "Definitely. There's no way you can stand against m—UGH!" Danzo yelled, as a clone of Sasuke appeared behind him, and slit his throat with a new-steel kunai. Danzo's blood sprayed, his jugular vein had been sliced open, and leaked down the side of his body. The newly made Kage fell to his knees, and dropped dead. The Kages gasped, and the Sasuke clone disappeared.**_

_**Meanwhile, the Kumo ninja and Naruto's group traveled quickly to the Kage meeting. Naruto growled, "I can already tell that Sasuke is there…I know it."**_

_Flashback Interrupted_

Naruto's flashback was interrupted by a knocking at the door. The blond turned towards the door, and walked swiftly over to the door. "Coming…" He said, unlocking and opening the door. Naruto rose an eyebrow, and to his surprise, he saw Shikamaru. Naruto and Shikamaru hadn't talked a lot recently, so it startled Naruto to see him here at his door.

"Shikamaru," he paused, "what are you doing here?"

Shikamaru smirked, and yawned, "Are you going to invite me in?" Naruto hesitated, but nodded, moving out of the way so the ANBU Captain could get in. Shikamaru had changed a lot himself as well; his hair not shorter, about shoulder length and kept in the same ponytail. He had let a small goatee grow on his chin, and he was about two inches shorter than Naruto. Shikamaru leaned against the wall, and Naruto closed the door, walking back into the kitchen. "You want something to drink?" He asked, and Shikamaru nodded.

"You've got Chuhai?" He asked, and Naruto nodded. Chuhai is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored beer; which was one of Shikamaru's new favourites. He only drank it on special occasions though, so this surprised Naruto indeed. "What flavor?"

"What do you have?" Shikamaru asked.

"Lemon, lime, mikan…" He offered, and Shikamaru rubbed his chin.

"I'll take a mikan." The lazy ninja said, and Naruto tossed him the Mandarin Orange Chuhai. Shikamaru opened the can, and Naruto took one out himself, lemon. "So…you usually never drink these unless something really good has happened," Naruto took a drink, "spill it."

Shikamaru swallowed his sip, and sighed, "I'm getting married." Naruto almost choked on his Chuhai, and he looked at Shikamaru like he had gotten stabbed. "Are you serious?!" He asked, and Shikamaru nodded.

"Yep. Ino and I have decided to take it up another step," he took another sip, "I proposed to her last night." Naruto smirked, "During the meteor shower? How romantic!" He teased, and Shikamaru gave him the middle-finger glare.

"Wow…I never expected Shikamaru Nara to get married." Naruto joked, and Shikamaru nodded, "I didn't think so either, but I feel like I've found what I've been looking for. And it shouldn't be that bad…" He said, finishing off his beer, and Naruto threw away his own can, "Well, I wish you good luck man…But there has to be another reason why you came over." He said, and Shikamaru nodded, "Wanna be my best man?" He asked, and Naruto rose an eyebrow, "Me? A best man? Pfft…I doubt you really want ME to be your best man."

Shikamaru shrugged, "I thought you'd be the only one who could handle it. No offense to anyone else…but I trust you the most. So will you do it or not?" He asked, and Naruto looked a little reluctant to answer. "Can I sleep on it?" Naruto asked, and Shikamaru nodded, "Sure…Well I should be going. Ino is going to divorce me before we even get married if I come home late." He joked, and Naruto laughed. The blond ninja opened the door for his lazy friend, and let him out. Closing the door, Naruto locked it and sat down on his couch.

'_Me? A best man? That's a high honor…I don't know if I should take it…'_ Naruto thought to himself, looking at the time. It was about 10 PM, and he decided it was about time to hit the sack. Besides, he had to get up tomorrow anyways. He didn't want to carry his sensei's reputation of being two hours late just because he couldn't wake up. Naruto removed his orange and black jacket, slightly altered to fit his toned body, and hung it up on the coat rack next to the door. Removing the rest of his clothes, Naruto got into bed with his red and black boxers that had Konoha's symbol all over them, and slid beneath the covers. It was unusually cold, and Naruto could tell something would be up soon. He soon fell asleep, thinking about tomorrow.

**xXLCUXx**

The next morning, Naruto awoke at 5:47 AM; he wiped his eyes of sleep, and stretched his arms above his head. He had blond armpit hairs, showing that he had grown a lot during his training and years of life, and he yawned. Naruto scratched his cheeks, and kicked his feet over the side of the bed, placing his feet on the cold floor, and got up. Naruto walked into his bathroom that was across from his bed on the right side, and flickered on the light so he could see. The mirror showed his hair, bedhead, and his eyes droopy. He needed a shower. Naruto removed his boxers, and turned on the shower head. Letting the water run for a bit, he got in, and let the cool water roll over him. He didn't like taking hot showers, as it made him want to sleep, so he took cold ones to wake him up. After fifteen minutes, Naruto turned off the water, and stepped out carefully from the tub.

He wrapped a soft white towel around his waist, and leaned against the counter. Then, he glanced into the mirror; he felt that his hairstyle was getting old. Maybe it was time to change it up. Naruto got out a comb, and began to comb his wet hair forward, instead of back. Instead of it being spiky, it turned out that his hair covered his eyes slightly and there were some points here and there, but he liked it better. After that, he brushed his teeth, applied invisible smooth deodorant, and sprayed on some low-scent cologne. Walking into his bedroom, Naruto headed to his closet.

Today, Naruto wanted to feel different; fresh and new. Of course, he loved the orange jumpsuit…it was his attire for most of his life. But now, he wanted to change. So, Naruto searched through his closet, looking for something other than orange. Alas, there was nothing. Naruto looked at the time on the wall, and noticed that it was about 6:10 AM. He had time to go to a clothing store and get new clothes; luckily, there was one store that was actually open. Naruto put on his regular attire, and slipped on his ninja sandals, also putting on his headband. He walked out the door, and took out his key to lock it.

He made his way towards the store to find new clothes, and smiled. The morning air always soothed Naruto; it was so peaceful, and cold. He liked it. As Naruto arrived at the clothing store, luckily he had one hour to get dressed. Opening the door and walking in, Naruto looked at the cashier, and smiled, "Hey Miss Haruno. How are you this fine morning?" He asked. Sakura's mother, Tairi, smiled and looked at the blond ninja.

"Oh, Naruto! Hello," she greeted, "I'm fine this morning. How 'bout you?"

Naruto walked up to the counter, and smiled, "Fine…I just came to get some new clothes. Can you help me out?" He asked, and Tegome smiled, "No worries! Tired of orange?" She joked, and Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I need something new." He laughed.

Tairi nodded, and disappeared in the back. After fifteen minutes, she came back with a stack of clothes. Naruto picked it up, and nodded before going into one of the dressing rooms. Two or three minutes passed, and Naruto came out. Tairi laughed, "Wow! You look great!" She said, pointing at the mirror. Naruto looked into it, and was shocked himself.

The outfit was WAY better than the normal orange and black attire. He had on a black and red waist length coat that was in between leather and regular cloth. It had a zipper, and fit perfectly on him. On his legs, he had a pair of regular black pants with normal black ninja sandals. He also had a pair of jet black, fingerless gloves on his hands with the Konoha metal plate on the top of them. Naruto laughed, and smiled, "Wow! This looks so cool! Thank you Ms. Haruno!" He said, walking up to the register. "How much?" He asked, taking out his wallet.

Tairi waved her hand downwards, and smiled, "Don't worry about it…this one is on the house." Naruto hesitated, "Are you sure? I am willing to pay." He said, and Tairi shook her head, "Nope! Go ahead. No need to thank me." She said, and Naruto sighed, "Thanks again." He said, before leaving the store.

Sakura's mom smiled. _'Sakura…why can't you see that he's the one for you?'_ She thought, walking back into the backroom.

Naruto rushed towards the Hokage Tower, and the ANBU nodded, unblocking his way as he arrived. Naruto nodded to them, and walked up the stairs. He knocked, and Kakashi's voice announced, "Come in, Naruto." Naruto opened the door to see Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba, Neji, and Kakashi all already there. Naruto closed the door behind him, and Sakura blushed at his new appearance.

'_He ditched the orange?_' She thought to herself, and Ino laughed, putting her hands on her hips, "I like the new look, Naruto," she said, "fits you better." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, and smiled, "Thanks." He took a stand next to Sakura, and waited for Kakashi to speak.

"Well, now that everyone is here, I'd like to tell you all why I assembled you here," he spoke, walking out from behind his desk, "a new organization has risen." Everyone's eyes widened, and Naruto looked at Kakashi in disbelief, "Like Akatsuki?!"

Kakashi reluctantly spoke, "No," he looked out the window, "they are way worse."

**A/N: Hope you liked the first chapter of "Sometime Around Midnight"! Reviews would be appreciated, and suggestions would be accepted as well. Thanks for reading, and I'll have the next chapter up soon hopefully!**


	2. Over My Head

_Sometime Around Midnight –Installment II: Over My Head_

When Kakashi had said that the new organization was **worse** than Akatsuki, his heart raced. He had enough trouble defeating the original, he knew that it would be even more difficult defeating this new group. Hesitant, Naruto asked, "What's the name of the group?"

Kakashi put his hands behind his back, and started to pace, "Miakegata. From recent reports, it seems that they rely on natural chakra." As this was said, Naruto was really scared now. "So," Naruto asked, "they use Sage chakra pretty much?" Kakashi nodded.

Sakura clenched her fists nervously, "What do you want us to do?" Shikamaru closed his eyes, in deep thought, "If they are anything like Akatsuki were, but stronger, this could be a challenge. The whole village is at jeopardy." Kakashi shook his head, "Not just yet…we don't know their full intentions, so we must wait," he paused, "that's why I called you here. I need you guys to spy on this organization." He finished, and Kiba scoffed, "How are we supposed to find them? Don't you think they'll be hidden?" He asked, and Kakashi held up a hand. "Yes, but fortunately, we have coordinates." He said, a scroll appearing in his hand. The silver haired ninja tossed to Shikamaru, and the shinobi gathered around him, reading.

"Where'd you get his, Kakashi-sama?" Ino asked, looking at his back. Kakashi turned to face them, "During one of the ANBU's missions, to Iwagakure, a beaten, and bruised man crawled up to them and handed them this," he continued, "the ANBU think he was a member of this so called Miakegata, and was trying to escape."

Sakura glanced at Naruto worried; who knew what Miakegata's intentions were? What if they were after the Bijuu like Akatsuki were? This meant trouble, and she was definitely gonna try and protect Naruto the best she could. Naruto could feel someone was watching him, and with his peripheral vision, he could see that Sakura was indeed looking at him. Inside, he knew what she was thinking. As he was about to speak, Shikamaru spoke.

"These coordinates are deep in the Iwagakure forest," he looked from the scroll to Kakashi, "does this infer that the Miakegata leader or any of them are from Iwa?" Kakashi nodded, and rubbed his masked chin, "That's what I thought…so I want you guys to check this out. Do you accept? This will be classified as double S rank, due to spywork on a criminal organization of unknown power." He explained, and all of them nodded. "Great. You are all dismissed." He said, and they all left. As Sakura exited, Naruto pulled her to the side. He had to talk to her.

"Sakura…this mission," he said, but Sakura interrupted him.

"I'm worried about you…what if they are for the same cause as Akatsuki? They could take you." She said, shaking a bit at the thought. Naruto gave one of his trademark smiles, and shook his head, "Don't worry! I took down Akatsuki right?"

Sakura nodded, "But you heard Kakashi-sensei! These guys are stronger than Akatsuki. And you barely made it alive against Pein, so what makes you think you can defeat them so easy like Akatsuki?" Naruto looked down a bit, but returned her gaze.

"Sakura, I know…I may have broken some promises, but I promise you, I won't let Miakegata get me." He said, and Sakura's eyes widened. She put her hands on his shoulders, and shook him slightly, "Naruto…no more promises. I already hurt you enough for more than ten years because of a promise you made to me. I won't let that happen again." Naruto looked away, "I-I…have to go. See you at the mission." He said, ignoring her plea. As Naruto left, Sakura stood there for a minute or two.

'_He still doesn't forgive himself…even after I forgave him. I even told him I didn't care about Sasuke anymore…Now I've hurt him even more than when he made the promise…'_ She thought, holding herself as she brought back tears. Meanwhile, in Kakashi's office, the silver haired ninja kicked his feet on the table and pulled out the last issue he had of Ichi Ichi Paradise; the last one before Jiraiya died. He began to read, but he suddenly got a shiver down his spine. Kakashi looked out the window behind him, and noticed that the sky had went from baby blue to dark, thunderstorm clouds.

'_A storm…not good. Be careful Naruto.'_ He thought, then continued reading.

At Naruto's house, the blond ninja walked into his kitchen, pulling out instant ramen cups, fruit, and a lemon and a mikan beer from the mahogany cupboard above the oven. With the food supplies, he opened up his pack, and placed the stuff in there along with a change of clothes, a first aid kit, and wrapped up replacement kunai. Zipping up the bag, Naruto placed it on his bag, and then made sure his headband was on tight. With that, he left his apartment and locked the door.

Sakura sat on her bed, shining up her kunai really quick, and placing them in a bag. On her mind while doing this, was Naruto. She had really hurt him, she could see that; and it made her feel not only guilty, but sad. Angry with herself, she looked at one of the kunai she had in her bag. Biting her lip, Sakura began to cry. Why was she feeling like this? Of course guilty and sad, but she had been guilty and sad before! Why was it different with Naruto? Sakura packed up her bag, and slung it on her back and headed out the door towards the east gates.

At the eastern Konoha gates, all the shinobi waited for orders. Shikamaru sighed, "Naruto, you are squad leader, since you are highest rank. What's our orders?" He asked, and Naruto nodded, standing in front of the four ninja.

"Okay guys, listen. We are taking a four day trip to Iwa. Our orders, to spy on Miakegata. So, here's the formation," he paused, thinking.

"I'll take front, Shikamaru you take the left of me, Kiba you take the right. Ino you will be between Kiba and Shikamaru, and Sakura you'll be at the back. Therefore, the two medic ninjas will be at the back incase one of us gets hurt. Then we have defense on both sides, as well as offense, likewise the front." He spoke. Everyone nodded, and Naruto gestured them to move out, "Let's go!" He said, and Sakura smiled to herself.

'_He's become so mature…he's like a different person…'_ With that thought, everyone moved out.

**Iwagakure Forest**

Sounds of dripping water could be heard; hitting puddles of more water that looked more like green ooze in the candlelight. Spiders crawled on cobwebs that hung from the corners and latched on to the candelabras that molded to the wall as well. The spiders were black widows; one of the most deadly spiders in the world. Down the hall, a giant room was filled with statues that held a different coloured scroll in each of its mouths. They looked like griffins, magical creatures that were half bird half mammal. Suddenly, silent rumbling took place as each of the scrolls dropped to the floor.

Each of them opened up, and eight humans popped out of them. Four women, four men. One with violent green hair, and golden yellow eyes spoke first.

"That cretin of a Miakegata, Jinkou, has been taken care of, Tegome." He spoke, and the one with midnight blue hair and purple eyes laughed, "Perfect. He shall now know that Miakegata is not to be fucked with," he said, closing his eyes, "especially with the consequences."

A female with infra red hair spoke next, her eyes the same colour as her hair, "What are we supposed to do about what Jinkou gave those ANBU from Konoha? I believe those were coordinates to our location, sir." She said, her voice monotonous. Tegome shook his head, "Let the Konoha ninja come. They have no idea what they are getting into."

One scroll that was unopened quickly opened, and a male with yellow hair and red eyes appeared. "Tegome-sama, we have a report that indeed Konoha ninja are on their way. Our spy has confirmed it." Tegome smirked, "Thank you, Mayonaka. Now," he said, moving hair out of his face, "we must prepare ourselves for their arrival. We can't be a rude welcoming committee. Let's show them the true power of Miakegata." And with that, everyone disappeared back into the scrolls, and the scrolls flew back into the griffin statues' mouths.

**With the Konoha Ninja**

Naruto led the group, with Kiba and Shikamaru at his sides. Kiba sniffed the air, and his eyes widened, "Naruto! Stop!" When he said that, everyone stopped and Naruto looked at his dog loving friend. "What is it Kiba?" Kiba sniffed again, and his eyes narrowed this time.

"Something isn't right…" He spoke, and suddenly, Sakura could sense it too. They smelled explosive powder…explosive tags! Sakura's eyes widened, "Everyone get out of the way!" She yelled, and everyone jumped backwards as a trail of paper bombs were set off. The ninja kept jumping backwards, until there were no more branches. Sakura tripped and started to fall, and Naruto's eyes widened. "Sakura!" He yelled, as he leaped down to grab her. More tags kept exploding. Naruto could see her heading for a branch below her, and it could break her back if not landed on properly.

Right when she was about to hit the branch, Naruto quickly grabbed her hand and landed on the branch. But unfortunately, he lost his footing and slipped falling to the ground. Good for them, the paper bombs stopped exploding and the fall wasn't that bad. Naruto opened his eyes to see Sakura on top of him, her eyes meeting his. She blushed, as did he, and she quickly pushed herself off. "Thanks…Naruto." Brushing himself off, Naruto smiled, "Are you okay…?" Sakura nodded, and looked at their other teammates.

Kiba jumped next to Naruto, as did Shikamaru and Ino. Ino growled, "What the hell was that!?" Shikamaru made a 'tch' noise, "It's like they knew we were coming. It was obviously a trap." Kiba closed his eyes and sighed, "Let's keep going I'm guessing?" He asked, and Naruto nodded, "We have to. Hopefully, we won't have to fight. But if we do, be ready. We don't know exactly how strong these guys are." He said, and everyone nodded, continuing to travel.

After many hours of traveling, the night had taken its place in the sky, and Naruto halted everyone. "We'll set up camp here. I'll take first night watch, then Shikamaru, and Kiba. Got it?" Everyone nodded, and Ino got out a tent she had packed in her pack. Shikamaru and Kiba went out for firewood, and Naruto went for water. Sakura followed him, and crouched next to him as he was getting water.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Sakura asked, folding her arms. Naruto nodded, and looked at her, "What's up?"

Sakura hesitated a bit, but mustered up courage, "Sai had told me something a long time ago…and its always been bothering. I've just never gotten to ask you." Naruto stopped getting water, and sat down next to her, "What's that?"

"Well…he told me that you—" Sakura was interrupted by Ino's voice. "Hey Sakura! We need you for a sec!" She said, and Sakura sighed, "I'll tell you later, okay?" Naruto nodded, and Sakura stood and followed Ino back to the campsite. Naruto watched her walk away, and stood himself with the water he had gathered in two empty canteens. Twigs crunched beneath his feet, and the leaves blew as the wind passed. As calming as this was, Naruto could tell he was being followed. He turned around to see no one, but he wasn't convinced. He put down the canteens, and walked back towards the river. The wind grew gradually faster, and Naruto growled. Someone was **definitely** watching him.

"Come out!" He said, and suddenly, a dark figure appeared out from behind a tree. "Don't hurt me!" the voice said, appearing to belong to a young girl. She had violet hair and green eyes. She was about five two, and her skin was pale. Her clothes were torn, and she looked skiny. Naruto let down his guard, and looked concerned, "What are you doing following me?" He asked, and the girl walked up to him, trying not to make him think that she was an enemy.

"I-I got lost…I've been out here for about two days…" She spoke, and Naruto didn't look quite convinced yet, "Where are you from?"

"A small village that's by Iwagakure."

Naruto motioned her to walk with him, "What are you doing all the way out here?" He asked, and the girl sighed, "I-I was taken," she said, crying a bit, "by these people who are in the Miakegata." By the mentioning of that name, Naruto stopped and crouched down to her level, "The Miakegata? Can you remember what they looked like?" He asked, and the girl nodded. Naruto smiled a bit, and stood up. "Come with me. We have food and shelter. You can travel with us," he spoke, "we are actually heading to Iwa."

The little girl smiled joyfully, "Oh! Thank you so much, sir!" She said, quickly hugging Naruto. Naruto smiled, and started heading back to camp, with the girl at his heels. As he arrived, Kiba and Shikamaru had brought back firewood, and started a fire. Ino looked at him, and rose an eyebrow, "Who is that?" She asked, and Sakura noticed her too, "Yeah…who is that?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Well when I was going to get water, I met her. She's lost, and she says she was taken by the Miakegata." Everyone's eyes widened, and Naruto ushered her to take a seat. "What's your name?" Sakura asked, and the girl cleared her throat a little; it being dry.

"M-My name is Merriyah. Merriyah Lyee." She said, and Ino smiled, rubbing her back. "Okay, Merriyah. Don't worry. Do you want some ramen?" She offered, and Merriyah nodded quickly, "I love ramen!"

Naruto smiled, "I second that!" He said, pulling out two instant ramens from his backpack, and opened each of them up. As he did, he took the canteens he had picked up, and poured the water into each of them. With that, he held each in his hands, and closed his eyes. Slowly, the ramen started to boil, and it was cooked. Sakura rose an eyebrow, "How'd you do that?" She asked, and Naruto handed one to Merriyah. "Well, I taught myself how to do that…couldn't wait three minutes to cook ramen." He joked, and Kiba shook his head, "And I thought Shikamaru was lazy."

Everyone laughed, and Naruto handed Merriyah a pair of chopsticks. As he was about to eat his ramen, Naruto looked at Sakura. She looked a little distant.

"Sakura?"

She looked at him, and rose an eyebrow, "Yes?"

"Do you want some ramen?" He offered, and Sakura held up her hands, "No I'm okay. Thank you anyways."

"Are you sure?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I already ate a big amount of food before we left." Naruto reluctantly started to eat, and Sakura stood, "I'm going to take a walk, okay?"

Shikamaru nodded, "Be on guard." He said, and Sakura nodded, walking away. Naruto watched her leave; something was bothering her, and he needed to find out. Naruto put down his ramen, "Could you guys watch Merriyah? I'm gonna go check on Sakura." He said, and Ino nodded, "Sure."

Naruto walked away from the campsite, and went into the direction of where Sakura went. When he found her, she was sitting on a huge rock, her knees tucked into her chest. The moon made her light up, her pink hair having a tint of moonlight in it, and her skin looked angelic. Naruto blushed at the site.

'_She's so beautiful…'_ He thought, shaking off his blush. Naruto walked up, and he could then hear her crying. Her head was buried into her arms, and she was in a heavy sob. Naruto sat down on the same rock she was on, and leaned forward. "Sakura? What's wrong…You know I don't like seeing you cry." He said, and Sakura jumped a bit.

She quickly wiped her tears, and put on a small smile, "Don't worry…Nothing's wrong…"

Naruto didn't buy it. "Sakura, don't lie to me. I wouldn't lie to you…what's wrong?" He asked again, and Sakura sighed, wiping away more tears.

"Earlier…I almost fell to my death…It reminded me of the last time that happened. Back in Kusagakure…" She said, and Naruto didn't meet her gaze. Now he remembered it.

_Flashback_

_**Their chakra was low; after fighting Orochimaru and Kabuto, it was difficult to move. Sakura was getting tired, and was even more tired after healing all of Naruto's burn wounds from transforming. Naruto watched her leap faster and faster, and he felt sorry. He didn't mean to go Kyuubi, and she used all of her chakra to save him. As he was thinking this, Sakura's eyes closed and she missed the next branch.**_

_**Her eyes quickly shot open, and she began to tumble towards the ground. This was it; a fall like this would leave her either crippled or dead. Naruto's eyes widened, and he shot forward to save her. "Sakura-chan!" He yelled, holding out his hand for her. Sakura held her towards his, and right as they were gonna grab each other's hands, Sakura missed the grasp. Naruto's speed decreased, and Sakura fell faster.**_

_**As she thought she was gonna die, Yamato came out of nowhere and scooped her out of harm's way. Yamato quickly landed on the ground, and leaned her against a tree. "Sakura, are you okay?" He asked, and Sakura nodded, her breathing heavy and sweat rolling down her face.**_

_**Naruto landed next to their replacement sensei, and crouched down next to Sakura. "I'm sorry Sakura! I didn't catch you!" He said, and Sakura smiled a little, "Don't worry! It wasn't your fault, besides I'm safe right?" She said, and Naruto nodded, "I'm glad for that too." That's when he saw the scratches on her arm. "Sakura…what happened to your arm?"**_

_**Sakura's eyes widened, and she had to make up a lie. If she told him that he had done this to her, he'd be miserable. "Orochimaru got me. Don't worry, it'll be fine." She lied. Naruto believed it, and growled, "I'll kill that Snake bastard!"**_

_Flashback End_

Naruto looked at her again, and scooted closer, "I'm sorry…I'm sorry for hurting you that day…It'll never happen again. I promised myself that." He spoke, and Sakura looked at him, tears rolling down her face. "Naruto…It wasn't your fault! You couldn't control the Kyuubi, and I'm fine right? I'm here with you right now? I'm alive…there's nothing you should be worried about."

The blond looked up into the sky, the moon glaring on his face. "Sakura…I need to tell you something…something I've been needing to tell you for all of my life." He said, and Sakura's eyes widened.

"Y-Yes?" She stuttered.

"I-I…" Suddenly, a blast from behind them could be heard, which made them both turn around. Sounds of kunai clashing and fire could be heard. Naruto stood, as well did Sakura, and they ran towards the campsite. "What the fuck is going on?!" Naruto yelled, and Shikamaru leaped towards him. "We are under attack! What the hell does it look like!?" He yelled, as another ninja threw a kunai at him, and he easily deflected it. Shikamaru jumped back into the fray, as did Naruto and Sakura. The ninja were from Iwagakure, which was odd, since they were about three days away! How did they get here so fast?

One ninja was fighting Kiba, while Ino protected Merriyah by fending off Iwa ninja. "There are too many!" She yelled, then seeing Sakura and Naruto. "Guys! Help over here!" She said, stabbing one in the neck. Merriyah covered her face, making sure she wasn't getting hit, as she hid behind Ino. Naruto turned to Sakura, "Sakura! Help Ino! I've got an idea!" He said, and Sakura nodded, "Gotcha!" With that, she rushed towards Ino. As a ninja was about to get Ino's blind spot, Sakura socked him right in the temple, which caused his jaw to break as he flew into a tree. The tree broke in half, and fell to the ground.

"Nice shot, Sakura." Ino said, fending off more ninjas.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru backflipped, throwing five kunai at oncoming ninjas. Suddenly, as the kunais were deflected, a gust of wind pushed the ninja away. They flew to the ground, and looked around at what had hit them. Naruto smirked, "Come on!" He said, and one of the Iwa ninja growled, "You look like the Fourth Hokage. Which makes me want to kill you more!" He yelled, as he rushed in, kunai at arm. Naruto rolled his eyes, and disarmed the ninja by twisting his wrist with ease, and he flipped him over his back stabbing him in the chest with his own kunai.

The other Iwa ninja continued to fight, attacking all of the Konoha ninja. As the fight progressed, all the Konoha ninja had their backs against each other. "There are a lot! It's definitely sure that they knew we were coming!" Suddenly, a shriek came from their left, and they could see the Iwa nin grabbing Merriyah. Naruto's eyes widened, and he rushed towards them, "Merriyah!" He yelled, but more Iwa ninja blocked his way. Naruto stabbed both of them, but for some reason, he felt like he was going slower. As all the Iwa ninja had escaped, Naruto fell to the ground.

Everyone rushed over to see what the problem was, and they could see a kunai in his shoulder. Sakura instantly could see that it was tainted with poison, and she gasped, "Ino! Get to my pack and get me my first aid kit. I'll get the poison out." All Naruto said before he knocked out was, "Shit."

**A/N: Well, I hope this was good as the first chapter, but hey, that's up to you guys. So far the Miakegata have been revealed partially, and Merriyah has been taken! Naruto has been poisoned, and signs of NaruSaku are already apparent. Next chapter will be up soon, so watch out for that one as well! Thanks for reading, and reviews are appreciated!**


	3. Never Say Never

_Sometime Around Midnight – Installment III: Never Say Never_

(Naruto's POV)

It was dark; really dark. How long had I been out? All I remember is that I was poisoned, and I went out cold. So, how long was I out?

I sat up, seeing that there was a dimly lit campfire. It was odd, because the fire was blue instead of orange. Reluctantly, I got up and walked towards the fire. Why was it blue? It was extremely hot, I could tell without even being close to it. As I approached, the blue flames grew brighter and bigger.

This gave me caution, and I backed up. Something was up. Something wasn't right. Suddenly, the flame exploded with sounds of screams, metal hitting metal, and blood splatter. My ears couldn't handle the loudness of the sounds, and I covered them before everything went dark again.

I reopened my eyes to see Sakura shaking me. "Wake up! Wake up Naruto!" I heard.

(Third POV)

Naruto looked around, and could tell that he was covered in sweat. His blond locks were slightly matted due to the position he was in, and he swallowed.

"What happened?"

Sakura sighed, "The kunai you got hit with was poisoned. Luckily, I got it out before it could spread." Naruto nodded slowly, putting his right hand to his forehead, "Damn," he closed his blue orbs, "I have a headache."

"That could be a side-effect. Don't worry about it. Now get up! We're almost to Iwa." The pink haired kunoichi spoke, and Naruto rose an eyebrow, obviously confused. "How did we get here so fast?"

Kiba walked up, and that's when Naruto heard a bark. "Akamaru was close behind with Neji," he said, "good thing too. You are way too heavy to be carried by any of us." He joked, and Naruto rolled his eyes, "Better question is, how long was I out?"

"Three days. The poison took a real toll on you." Neji answered, crossing his arms. Naruto stood up, and dusted off his clothes, glaring up at the sun that beamed down upon them. He sighed, and cracked his neck and knuckles, "Okay let's move out…how far exactly are we away from Iwa?"

Shikamaru yawned, "About thirty minutes. We should arrive right when night falls. The lair is supposedly right outside the gates of Iwa, except hidden in the forest." Naruto' eyes widened, remembering the Miakegata…

'_Merriyah!'_ He thought, and he started bolting towards the direction of Iwa. This took everyone by surprise, and Sakura ran after him, "Naruto! Slow down!" She yelled, but he was oblivious; he was too concerned on getting to the Miakegata's lair and saving Merriyah.

Everyone started chasing after the two shinobi, and that's when they made their way to Iwagakure.

**Deep in the Iwagakure Forest**

Tegome walked swiftly across the decrepit hallways of the Miakegata lair as he abruptly opened a steel, latched door. He smirked, "Well, well, well. Are they on their way?" A girl's voice echoed throughout the room, "Yes, Tegome-sama. The Iwa ninja I sent put them even more on the right track."

The Miakegata Leader smiled, pleased, "Good work. Now get some rest. They'll be here soon." And with that, he closed the door with a slam. The room went dark, and only a pair of brightly lit blue eyes.

**Outside Iwagakure's Gates**

Naruto paused at the gates, seeing guards at the ready for any intruders; especially if they were Konoha ninja. The blond ninja hid in the bushes a distance away from the gates, and Sakura jumped up right next to him. "We made it faster than I thought we would." She said, and Naruto nodded, seeing Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba hide in the shrubs across from them; Ino joining their hiding spot.

He notioned Kiba, Shikamaru, and Neji to move forward, into the forest, and they rushed across. They made it undetected. Next, Ino and Sakura went, Naruto following suit. Right as they disappeared into the forest, a couple of Iwa Jounnin opened the gates looking around.

The six shinobi traveled cautiously towards the exact place of the hideout. When they arrived, the now knew that the hideout wasn't only a hideout, but a fucking mansion! The place was so huge! In the front, was a classic Japanese style set up, but the back was about a three story tower with two more by its side. It was painted forest green and black, which did well with camoflauge.

"How is this a secret hideout? It's as big as two apartment complexes!" Ino exclaimed, and Naruto smirked, "I doubt this is all. I believe the hideout has to be hidden somewhere either underneath it or behind it." He paused.

Something was off, and that's when Naruto's eyes widened. Ahead, he could see Sakura being stabbed many times in the stomach by a cloaked man. Blood splattered everywhere on the walls of the porch, and the man turned towards him. He lifted his head slightly, and showed his bright yellow eyes.

"Sakura!" He yelled, about to run towards her, until he heard her voice behind him. He turned to see her standing there, with everyone else, looking at him like he was crazy.

Naruto was confused to say the least, "S-Sakura…I thought…you," he looked back at the porch to see nothing but a clean, sturdy porch.

"Are you okay?" Kiba asked, a little freaked out by his blond friend's sudden outburst. Naruto hesitated to answer, but nodded, "Y-Yeah…Let's just move on." What was going on?

"Kiba, Neji, Ino, and Shikamaru go investigate the front to find an entrance. Be careful though. Sakura, come with me to investigate the back." He ordered, and they all nodded, heading to their told positions.

Naruto took Sakura to the back, and she stopped him, "What the hell happened back there?" Naruto knew that he was being confronted, and there was no sense in lying.

"I-I saw you getting brutally…murdered on the front porch." He stuttered, feeling his heart race with fear. Sakura's eyes widened, "You saw that? But how?" She asked, and the ninja shook his head, "I have no idea! It just suddenly appeared!"

Sakura nodded, interested to find out how this all was happening, then it came to her. "The poison! It must've had…some sort of hallucinogenic in it. I have a sample of the poison, I can test it to see for sure." Naruto nodded, and smiled, "Thanks…Now let's get inside." He said, looking around for an entrance.

The ninja all knew that what had started out as a reconnaissance mission, turned into a deadly SS rank mission. Naruto couldn't seem to find a door, so he looked at Sakura, and she smirked. With an adjustment of her glove, Sakura landed an amazingly strong punch into the stone wall of the building, making a gigantic hole in it. Naruto patted her on the shoulder, "Nice. Let's go!" He said to her, and she smiled, following her headstrong teammate.

**Down Underneath the Miakegata Household**

Mayonaka looked up, and growled, closing his eyes. He quickly teleported to the exact position of Tegome, and had a serious look on his face.

"Tegome-sama, the Konoha ninja are here! What do we do?" He asked, and Tegome rose an eyebrow. There was an awkward silence. "Kill them." He said, simply standing. "Bring everyone else with you," he spoke, walking around his desk, "this could be fun."

**In the Foyer**

Kiba walked in slowly with Akamaru, Neji, Shikamaru, and Ino at his side. The foyer was dusted, like no one had been there for a while; which gave off a creepy feeling. Shikamaru looked around at the different paintings and statues.

Ino rubbed her arms slightly, getting goosebumps and different cold shivers, "This place is creepy. Doesn't really seem that much of a base where criminals have been." Neji nodded, activating his Byakkugan.

"Naruto was right," he said, looking down, "the hideout is beneath this place. There has to be some entrance." Kiba smirked, "Akamaru and I will handle that!" He said, but Shikamaru stopped him, "Don't rush in. Let's split up into different sections." He spoke.

"Ino, you take the left hallway. I'm guessing that leads to the main dining hall." Ino nodded, and rushed off towards said direction. Shikamaru then looked at Neji, "Go through to the right hall." Neji left without another word, and that's when Akamaru and Kiba took off straight ahead. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Jumping the gun…troublesome." He whispered to himself, as he ran upstairs.

Meanwhile, Naruto walked, Sakura close behind him, through the garden courtyard. It was gigantic, easy to get lost. It was exactly like a hedge labyrinth except it was filled with ancient statues and different forms of poisonous plants.

As Naruto was about to walk forward, Sakura quickly pulled him back. "Naruto, watch out. Some of these plants are very poisonous." She said, recognizing some of them in a medical treatment journal of Tsunade's a while back.

Naruto nodded, cautiously continuing to walk forward with Sakura close at his side. When they progressed, a light sound of, what sounded like, a ukulele played in their ears. Naruto turned to Sakura, "Do you hear that?"

Sakura nodded, "It's coming from that direction." She said, pointing to the passage ahead. The hedge's walls were covered with poison ivy and many different flowers that were deemed to be dangerous. Suddenly, eight vines quickly came out from the hedges, and wrapped around Naruto and Sakura's arms and legs.

As this happened, Naruto quickly pumped chakra into his left hand, which cut the vine with ease, and released himself from the vines. Unfortunately, Sakura was being pulled in through the hedges. She reached out to grab his hand, but failed as she was almost completely consumed by the plant.

"Naruto!" She yelled, and the blond quickly pulled at the hedges to get through, but he was forced back by another vine. He fell to the ground, and rushed back at the plant. But it was too late; Sakura had been taken in.

"Sakura!" He yelled, pulling at the plant some more. Alas, there was no way to get through. When he thought it was over, Sakura's voice chimed in the hedges. "Naruto! I'm okay!"

He quickly got to his feet, and listened, "Where are you!? I'll come get you!"

"Well, that could be a problem," she said, "this is a real labyrinth. Which means it'll take forever to find me. Let's just try to meet up somewhere." Naruto hesitated, "Okay…as long as your okay. I'll send out a signal in the air when I've found an exit." He said, and Sakura nodded, "Okay!"

With those last words, Naruto ran down a hall of the plant maze, and came to a fork in the road. "Fuck…which way?" He asked himself, but then heard the music again. He turned his head to the left, where it was coming from, and he could then see what looked like pink hair. It was Sakura!

"Sakura! Wait!" He yelled, rushing towards the way she had gone.

Meanwhile, Ino walked down a narrow hallway; the walls were covered in what looked like moss and dried blood. She shivered at the sight, and continued walking. Kunai at hand, Ino came across a single steel door at the end of the hallway. Slowly opening it, the blond kunoichi could tell she had found something crucial.

Inside the room, there was a single pedestal with a single iris in a pot on it. Around the stand was dead grass and other irises. Ino carefully walked in, and looked up at the ceiling. What she saw made her gasp.

At the other end of the house, Neji had his Byakkugan activated, looking for any leads of entrance ways. Alas, he found none. As he was about to turn around, after a thorough search of the wing, something caught the Hyuuga's attention. Down a certain hallway, which wasn't there before, a door was lit brightly. Neji took out a kunai, and slowly walked down the hallway, ready to fight at any time. As he reached the door, a loud screeching sound could be heard inside. Like the sound of someone sharpening a blade, and Neji swiftly opened the door to see nothing but a stalactite of purple crystals; amethysts most likely. He stepped inside, and the door shut immediately behind him, which made him turn and hold up his kunai.

When nothing was there, he turned back around to see that the crystals started emitting the sound again. As it got louder, it was like a dog whistle, and Neji covered his ears as he fell to his knees. The sound was excruciating! As Neji opened his eyes, and looked up, what he saw shocked him more than anything he'd imagine.

The wind direction and speed changed as Sakura progressed through the labyrinth; she avoided touching the poisonous flowers and plants, and searched desperately for an exit.

'_What the hell! This place is confusing; no wonder it's a labyrinth…Wait a second…'_She thought, then noticing something different. Looking down two hallways, they were the exact same as the hallway her and Naruto had gotten split apart. An idea popped in her head, and this possibly would make it easier for her to find the exit. Sakura, finding the flaw, pumped chakra into her hands, and touched the ground. Taking a glance at both hallways, she could see a small chakra string that went down the left one. "That's the way!" She said, rushing down the hallway, and following the string that had been revealed.

Meanwhile, Naruto ran in the direction of the girl he had seen, and made a quick left. It was a dead end, and as he turned around, the girl stood there. It looked like a perfect carbon copy of Sakura, and Naruto rose an eyebrow, "Sakura? How did you find me?" He asked, a little curious. She didn't answer, but looked up. Naruto's eyes widened, "Y-You're not Sakura!" He yelled, as his eyebrows furrowed and he had an angry look on his face. The Sakura he was seeing had the pink hair and same body, but her eyes were tangerine orange.

As Naruto reached for his kunai pouch, the girl quickly teleported in front of Naruto, and it all happened so fast. Suddenly, Naruto was punched through about eight hedges behind him, and he hit a stone wall. The very powerful girl walked slowly, but ominously towards the blond haired ninja; an evil smile plastered on her face. Naruto swiftly scurried to his feet, and pulled out an explosive tag kunai. Throwing it at her feet, the clone stopped at it, and smirked. "Won't work, Uzumaki Naruto." She said, her voice sounding almost robotic. The tag exploded, and smoke covered the area. Naruto smirked, _'That's what you think…'_ He thought, then he formed a Rasengan and rushed into the dust.

Akamaru whimpered as Kiba and himself walked down the armor filled hallway. It was dark, and spiders crawled on everything. Kiba gulped, and had a kunai at the ready. The giant white dog cried again, and Kiba looked at him, "Don't worry, buddy. It's just a dark hallway…with spiders…" He said, sweating a bit as he saw a black widow crawl on one of the armor statues. It wasn't very common to see black widows in the shinobi nations, as they were pretty much extinct; so seeing them now, made Kiba know that something was going on.

As they reached the end of the hallway, Kiba opened a door that had a weird looking object in the center with a symbol that resembled a figure 8 with heart, engraved on the stone. On the floor, were various red and black triangles that stretched to the centerpiece. Akamaru whimpered again, and Kiba held up a finger and made a 'shh' noise. Suddenly, the room started spinning, and with that Kiba knew what they were on. It was a roulette table! Kiba put up his kunai, to block an oncoming attacks, and Akamaru started to growl. There was about to be a battle.

Ino almost fell on the ground as she noticed that the ceiling had a mirror. What the mirror showed her was that the floor was covered in dead bodies. But in her vision, there were irises. That's when she quickly got up to notice that the irises faded and bodies of dead shinobi, fresh dead shinobi, appeared. Ino let out a scream that could be heard by Shikamaru, who was upstairs in some of the bedrooms. "Ino!" He yelled, as he ran towards one of the bedroom doors. As he was about to exit, it slammed shut and locked. Shikamaru halted, and slammed on the door, "Fuck!"

That's when the girl with infra red hair and red eyes appeared. She smirked, her skin pale and her height was to laugh at. She looked a little skinny, but other than that was well fed. Ino growled, "Who are you?!" She asked, and the girl laughed.

"The only thing you need to know is that I'm the one who will add you to my collection of dead bodies on the ground." When she said that, Ino felt her heart jump with fear, but she didn't stand down. Ino rushed forward and did some handseals, "Airisu Katana no Jutsu!" She said, as her kunai she had in her hand transformed into a large katana. She swung it at the girl, but she just merely jumped back. As she landed, the girl did handseals of her own, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" She said, before cupping her hands around her mouth and blowing out a monstrous fireball.

Ino backed up, and stabbed her Katana into the wall, which made her a platform to stand on. The fireball dissipated, and the girl leaped towards Ino. "Katon: Kasai Baindo no Jutsu!" With that, fire erupted out of her mouth, and bound Ino to the wall, slowly burning her skin. Ino screamed in pain, and her Katana disappeared. The fiery haired girl landed directly in front of her, floating as it seemed, and smirked. "There's nothing you could do to stop me now, bitch."

Meanwhile, Neji glanced into the crystal to see a man tied down. He had many scratches on his body, clothes torn and hair dry and frizzed. Another kunai slice made him jump, as the man screamed in pain. He then saw Neji, "Help me!" He yelled, and Neji looked around; how could he see him? Neji tried stabbing the crystal with his kunai, but it just merely snapped. The Hyuuga couldn't believe that a simple crystal had broken his kunai, and that's when laughter sounded behind him. Quickly, Neji threw another one of his kunai towards the voice, and he merely caught it between his fingers.

"Heh, you thought a puny kunai," he said, looking at it then crushing it into dust, "could stop me?"

Neji's eyes widened; he had never seen such strength, even with Tsunade or Sakura combined. "Who are you…are you with the Miakegata?!" Neji demanded, and the man nodded, "Of course, of course." He said, blowing the kunai dust which caused a black cloud to form in front of Neji. As it disappeared, the ninja was gone. Neji kept his Byakkugan on, and looked around for the deadly ninja. Laughter echoed in the room, and the Hyuuga tried to find his chakra source.

'_Damn…He must have a Kekkei Genkai guard…'_ He thought, and the ninja he had been looking for leaped in front of him, punching him through a wall. Neji landed square in the middle of what seemed like glue, and he couldn't move. The ninja walked towards him, moving his yellow hair out of his eyes. He crouched down, and smiled, "You thought YOU could stop me," he looked him over, "puny, pathetic, worthless Hyuuga." That's what made Neji snap. With quick succession, he performed a rotation that only didn't free him, but knocked the ninja backwards into the crystal. As he impacted, the crystal cracked slowly. Neji walked towards the ninja, and then glanced at the crystal. The man that was being tortured yelled at him, "Hit him in the neck! It's his weak spot!" That's when he got cut again, across the chest. He screamed, and Neji nodded.

Sakura continued traveling and traveling, as she finally reached an exit. With that, she shot a chakra enhanced signal flare in the air, and waited for Naruto to find her. Meanwhile with Naruto, the Rasengan had seemed to have connected, but when it did, the girl disappeared. Naruto's eyes widened, as she appeared behind him, and kicked him, sending him straight up in the air. Really high up, that Naruto could see the whole labyrinth, the girl appeared in front of him. "Now, you die!" She screamed, until the flare hit her eyes. Her eyes widened, then she went blind, quickly covering them.

This was his chance. Naruto smirked, and did an in-air front flip, kicking out his leg as it was brought down on top of her head. The force was so strong, that she went flying downwards. She screamed again, and made contact with the ground. A big crater was beneath her, and her face was smashed into the ground; she didn't move. Naruto started falling himself, and he quickly did handsigns. "Fuuton: Kaze Suihou no Jutsu!" He said, as the wind circled around him, creating a solid bubble of wind around him. He made contact with the floor, landing right next to Sakura, and the bubble popped, making him fall to the ground.

Sakura gasped, and moved out of the way as he rolled onto his back. "Ow…" He said, and Sakura rolled her eyes, "What happened to you?"

"I just fought one of the Miakeagata," he said, getting up and rubbing his head, "what a bitch." Sakura laughed, but regained her seriousness, "So, is she dead?" Naruto nodded, "At least I think so. I don't intend to find out yet though. If she attacked me, that means they definitely know we're here, and that also means they are attacking the others. Come on!" He said, running into the house's back entrance, Sakura following him. Kiba guarded all oncoming kunai and senbon flying towards him, hitting the metal roulette table with a clank. A girl with violent orange hair and jade coloured eyes appeared on the centerpiece of the roulette table. She smirked, and Akamaru growled, jumping in to attack her. Kiba's eyes widened, "Akamaru! No!" He yelled, but it was too late.

The girl laughed and held her hand out. Out of her sleeve, crawled out five black widow spiders, and they leaped on Akamaru. The dog whined and fell on the roulette table as the spiders bit him and crawled back her arm. Kiba growled, "You whore! I'll kill you!" He screamed, as he launched his kunai at her. She easily blocked it, and jumped down for close combat.

Naruto and Sakura arrived at the foyer, and it was brightly lit. They looked up and what they saw surprised them to say the least. A giant spiderweb that was as big as Kusagakure(A/N: Kusagakure, or the Grass Village, is small, but still a village. Imagine that.) itself; on it were many varieties of spiders and remains of ninjas were entangled in the cobwebs. Sakura almost screamed, until a voice sounded from behind them. They turned to see Tegome, his midnight blue hair and yellow eyes. His hands were behind his back and he smirked, "Beautiful isn't it," he said, his eyes closed, "how spiders **collect** their prey." Naruto growled, pushing Sakura behind him, and holding up a kunai. Tegome stopped where he was, "Miakegata…Green dawn," he paused, "it means green dawn…"

Naruto didn't move, "We don't give a shit about what it means…why are you killing innocent ninja!?" He yelled, and Tegome raised his hands, "No need to yell," he opened his eyes, and smirked, "Naruto." Naruto's eyes widened, "How do you know my name…" He asked, and Tegome rolled his eyes, "Who doesn't!? The fantastic ninja who caused all hell to break loose! The savior of villages and destroyed of Akatsuki!" Tegome paused, and slowly, a spiderweb leaked from his sleeve, "The insolent bastard who pushed us into bat country," he spoke, "it's shinobi like you; the strong, determined, fucking loyal, shinobi that piss me off. You give us a bad name." He said, walking towards.

Sakura grabbed out her own kunai, and stood next to Naruto. "Back up." She spoke, and Tegome kept walking. Naruto spoke, "Like you already didn't have a bad name…And we are here to stop you before you spread anymore chaos."

Tegome scoffed, "Like you could do that. Miakegata isn't like Akatsuki; we don't care about the Bijuu and showing people how pain really works or some bullshit like that," the spiderweb then released a brown recluse, that's what made them back up more, "we have a greater cause."

"What would that be?" Naruto questioned, and Tegome closed his eyes, "Simple."

They waited; the silence of the room was broken as his voice echoed.

"The sixth element."

**A/N: The chapters are getting a bit longer each time. Hope you liked this one, and the update will come everyday hopefully. So it seems that they have found Miakegata, but things aren't going as according to plan. They are in trouble, and what is this "sixth element" Tegome talks about? Find out next chapter!**


	4. Ain't No Rest For the Wicked

_Sometime Around Midnight – Installment IV: Ain't No Rest For the Wicked_

'_The sixth element?' _ Naruto thought, gripping the kunai harder. Sakura and Naruto's eyes kept steady on the deadly spider that was creeping down from the glob of spiderweb. Tegome smirked, "Now, Uzumaki," he spoke, "fight me!" That's when he lurched his arm forward, and the brown recluse flew towards the ninja.

Tegome crouched down and did five handsigns, "Demonic Style: Reclusive Instinct!" He yelled, as the spider grew ten times bigger than it was. It landed in front of the two Konoha ninja, and bared its fangs; Naruto pushed Sakura back, and she growled, "Naruto! You can't fight him alone!" Naruto ignored her, then answered, "I don't want you to get hurt."

Sakura's eyes widened. _'Why is he always thinking about me!? I can't let him do this alone…' _ Sakura fought, as she ran next to Naruto. "I'm not leaving you." Tegome rolled his eyes, "How sweet. Too bad I'll have to kill you guys." Suddenly, the spider shot out a long strand of spiderweb, and the two Konoha shinobi jumped back to avoid it.

Meanwhile, Ino could feel her vision fading as the bindings burned deeper into her skin. Suddenly, she got an idea. "Hey, bitch!" Ino taunted her, and the Miakegata woman walked towards her. "What do you want? Last words?"

Ino nodded, and she smirked, "Mind Controlling Jutsu!" She said, as the blond ninja looked into her eyes. The red haired girl's eyes widened as Ino transferred her soul into her body. Ino fell limp, and the red haired girl backed up, falling to her knees.

"G-Get out of my mind!" She yelled, gripping her temples. Her hands came slowly together as she released the jutsu. Ino's body fell to the floor, and she transferred back. "Now! Take this!" She yelled, unleashing her katana and stabbing it into the girl's back.

Blood sprayed out of her wounds, and she fell limp to the ground. Ino did it! Happy with what she had done, Ino quickly, but carefully headed towards the exit to find the others. Her wounds were bad; most likely third degree burns, but she could handle it.

With Neji, the man stood and rushed towards him with a huge anger. Neji backed up, blocking each of his punches with his Gentle Fist counter, and finally, the huge ninja struck Neji right in the chest, which knocked him through a wall.

The Hyuuga landed with a thud, and coughed as blood dribbled down his lip. The tall, Miakegata ninja smirked, and laughed, "Its over for you…" As he said that, a hammer that was bigger than both Neji and him combined appeared. The ninja swung it over his head, and was about to smash it down when Neji performed another Rotation which made him stumble.

The hammer fell out of his hands, and Neji took out one of his kunais and swung it around his fingers. "Die!" He yelled, as he leaped into the air, and lodged the kunai into the ninja's neck. Blood poured out onto the black steel metal, and Neji released it before the blood could touch him.

"Worthless…" Neji mused, looking at the crystal. The man who was being tortured wasn't moving, and Neji walked up to call him. "Hey! Are you okay?" No answer. "Sir, can you hear me?" Still no answer. He was dead; that was official. Neji felt a little guilty on letting him die, but he couldn't totally blame it on himself.

With that, Neji walked out. Something made him think something else was up; they were dying **too** easily.

Naruto put his fingers in the right handseal position, and smirked as the web landed right next to him. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He made seven shadow clones of himself and sent them towards Tegome and the giant spider. The spider bit into one of the clones, quickly dispelling them and Tegome threw five kunai at once, each lodging themselves into the clones' chests.

"Is that all you got?" Tegome taunted, and the spider shot out another stream of webs. Sakura went to the left and Naruto went to the right, but unfortunately, Sakura didn't escape fast enough. The spiderweb caught right around her right ankle, knocking her to the ground.

As she hit, Sakura's head hit the ground hard and she was knocked out. Naruto's eyes widened, "Sakura!" He screamed, as he ran towards the spider. Tegome growled and launched five more kunai towards the blond shinobi, and he dodged them each with succession.

One fail swoop, and Naruto sliced the spiderweb, making Sakura stop in her place. The spider hissed and leaped at Naruto. He didn't have time to react, and he moved back quickly, only to fall to the ground. As the spider was about dig its fangs into his skin, a blinding white light flooded the room, making the spider squeal and fly back.

Tegome took this by surprise, and looked at the source. Merriyah stood there, her eyes pure blue instead of green, and she growled, "Naruto! Grab Sakura's hand!"

"What are you doing, Merriyah!" Tegome yelled, "You know what will happen if you betray the Miakeagata!"

Naruto couldn't believe it; that little girl was a part of the Miakegata? It couldn't have been! Merriyah spit at the ground, "I'm done taking orders from you," that's when she looked at Naruto and Sakura, "take her hand! I've linked all of your friends together! I just need to teleport you, it'll take you back to Konoha!" Naruto was hesitant, but he believed Merriyah.

Scurrying on the ground, Naruto dove for Sakura's hand and Merriyah performed a handseal, "Hiraishin no Jutsu!" She said, and Naruto closed his eyes, disappearing with Sakura. When he opened his eyes, they were at the front gates of Konoha. Sakura moaned and tried getting up, "Naruto?" She asked weakly, and Naruto didn't answer.

Kiba and Akamaru were laying by the gates, along with Neji, Ino, and Shikamaru. Shikamaru rubbed his head, "What just happened?!" Naruto stood up, and helped Sakura, "I don't know…all I know is that Merriyah used a jutsu on us…good thing we were out of there," he then saw that Kiba was trying to wake up Akamaru, "hurry, let's help Kiba get Akamaru to the hospital."

Kiba shook Akamaru, and the white dog whimpered, "Aarf…"

"Can you walk buddy? We'll get you some help." Kiba asked, petting his white haired friend slowly. Sakura walked up, "Don't worry…I can help. What happened?"

"He was bitten by black widows. One of the Miakegata sent them on him." Kiba explained, and Sakura decided to act quick. She concentrated chakra to her hands and brought them over Akamaru's limp body. Slowly, the chakra seeped through his skin and started pulling the poison out of his body.

Naruto looked at Ino and Sakura, "Shikamaru, Ino, go report to the Hokage on what happened. We'll call this a mission success I think so. Tell Kakashi that I'll be there in a second to fill him in on what kind of powers the Miakegata use."

Shikamaru and Ino nodded, and headed towards the Hokage tower. Meanwhile, Sakura continued to heal Akamaru and Kiba stood up to talk to Naruto.

"So what happened with you guys?" Kiba asked.

Naruto sighed, "Well the first Miakegata, that I think I killed, was a Taijutsu user. Since I didn't get to fight her long, I'm not sure. Then we met up with the leader I believe. His name was Tegome and he seemed to be obsessed with spiders."

"As are all of them…the girl I fought used black widows…nothing much else." Kiba explained, and Naruto nodded. He looked to the left to see Neji come out of the woods, and he walked over. "Where'd you disappear to?"

"I-It seems I teleported a little further than the front gates." Neji said, brushing himself off from the dirt. Naruto closed his eyes, and looked at Sakura. She looked so beautiful…Naruto couldn't risk the chance of losing her again.

Sakura stood, and Akamaru barked. "He'll be a little drowsy, but I drained all of the poison." Kiba ran over and Akamaru stood up, barking happily. "Thank you Sakura…I don't know what I would do if I had lost him." Sakura's eyes downcast a little bit, and she looked behind her at Naruto. "I understand that…no problem Kiba."

Naruto stood in front of the other ninja, "Okay…mission accomplished. We need to go to the Hokage Tower to brief him on what our opponents use in order to defeat their opponents, and what their goals are. Let's move out!" He said, as they all ran towards the tower.

Inside Kakashi's office, Shikamaru and Ino had just got done explaining their opponents' techniques to him as Naruto and the others walked in.

"Ah! Naruto, I heard the recon mission was a success?" Kakashi asked, and Naruto shrugged, "Yes, in my opinion…"

"Explain to me their goals…" And Naruto nodded, "Tegome, their leader, said that they are looking for something called the sixth element. He didn't explain much, but all we know is that he specializes in insect or arachnid-like techniques."

Kakashi's eye widened, and he gulped, "I see…the sixth element you say?" Sakura nodded, "That's what he said," she rubbed her hands, "what do you know about it?"

Kakashi shook his head, "Nothing…I know nothing about it. All I know is that The sixth element is said to not only kill," Kakashi paused, "but revive."

After their meeting with Kakashi, everyone headed out their separate ways. Naruto was about to leave, until Sakura stopped him at the end of the stairs. "Naruto…"

He paused, and turned around, giving his pink haired teammate his foxy grin. "Hey Sakura…what's up?" He mused, and Sakura brought him outside. "Can I talk to you somewhere private?" She asked, and Naruto nodded, "How 'bout the park near my new apartment?" Sakura nodded, and followed Naruto to the usually busy park. Since it was a little late, not many people were out.

Naruto sat down on the dock on the lake, and Sakura took a seat next to him. She tucked her knees to her chest, and looked at her blond teammate; he looked back, and smiled, "So what's on your mind Sakura-chan?"

The pink haired kunoichi blushed and looked out into the water. "I-I want you to know," she paused, tearing up, "that I don't blame you for killing Sasuke." This took Naruto by surprise, and he looked away.

_Flashback_

"_**Sasuke!" Naruto screamed, anger flaring excessively. The raven haired boy turned towards his old teammate; friend, and smirked, "Naruto…still loud and obnoxious as always."**_

"_**Sasuke! How could you work with AkatsukI?!" Naruto questioned. Sasuke didn't answer; he teleported, and appeared behind Naruto. He held his snake blade against his neck, "You are dead last," he answered, "you will always be." That's when Naruto did something that took everyone by surprise. The Naruto that was in Sasuke's grasp disappeared, and the Uchiha's eyes widened.**_

'_**When?!' Sasuke thought, activating his Sharingan. "Teme! Up here!" Naruto yelled, and Sasuke looked up. It was too late; too fast for even the Sharingan. Naruto soared down towards Sasuke, a RasenShurriken in his hand, and he slammed it right into his chest.**_

_**As this happened, Sakura arrived at the scene, her heart stopping as she saw the sight. A strong gust of wind blew everyone back, and the Kages watched for the outcome of the attack. When the dust cleared, Naruto and Sasuke were both on the ground; Naruto's arm bleeding excessively and Sasuke with a massive hole in his chest.**_

_**The Uchiha smirked, coughing up blood, "Dobe, you have gotten stronger…I still don't see how I got taken down so easily," he closed his eyes, "even with Sharingan." Naruto coughed and winced at the pain in his arm, "Even if you had dodged it, the impact with the ground would have hurt you anyways…it was no use…Teme."**_

"_**Naruto!" Sakura yelled, and the blond's eyes widened. He had killed Sasuke in front of the one he loved; he had killed the one she loved. Naruto's blue eyes went dull, and he looked away. He couldn't face Sakura, not after this. Sasuke's life faded away, and Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo watched in amazement.**_

'_**S-Sasuke was taken down that fast?!' Suuigetsu thought, quivering in fear. Karin gasped, and ran up to the Uchiha's mangled body, only to be stopped by Juugo. "Sasuke!" Karin screamed, crying. Juugo didn't look at the body, and closed his eyes, "Let's get out of here."**_

_Flashback Over_

Naruto closed his eyes, "S-Sakura, but…" Sakura interrupted him, "No…I don't want you take any blame. I was on my way there," she paused, it was going to be hard to say this, "to ask you to kill him."

This definitely took Naruto for a spin, and he quickly whirled his head to look at his pink haired friend. She was crying, her emerald eyes being clashed with acid rain tears. Naruto took his thumb, and wiped the tears off her cheek. "Why would you ask me to do that? I-I thought you loved Sasuke."

"I did….I thought I did at least. Over the years, as I started to mature, I began to notice how foolish I was. Sure, I wanted him back, but only to be a team again! Nothing more…And that's not all." At this point, the moonlight shined on Sakura's face, hiding her slight blush, "Sai told me something."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but listened; he knew that anything Sai said would be either bad or insulting, either way it was no good.

Sakura looked up at the sky, "Sai told me that the promise you made to me is not only hurting you, but me too…Is that true?"

Naruto was hesitant; what was he supposed to say?! He knew he couldn't lie to Sakura; not her. The awkward silence could have been cut with a knife, and that's when she broke the ice.

"He told me that it was hurting you because you loved me." Sakura told him, tears streaming down her face. Naruto's eyes grew big, and he gulped. "Is that so…" He answered, his voice weak. "Tell me, is that true?" She had to know; she just had to.

Naruto nodded, and Sakura closed her eyes, bringing out a slight smile, "So it is…I knew you had a crush on me, but I never knew it was something more…and to think I was so blind…" She mused to herself, crying some more. Naruto looked at her, and sat closer wiping her tears away, "Sakura-chan, you know I don't like it when you cry."

Sakura noticed how close they were; she didn't want to hit him for two reasons: One, they were adults now! Hitting was so immature. Two, she actually wanted it to be like that. Sakura gulped and blushed deeper shades of red, as did Naruto.

"Do you still f-feel that way?" She asked nervously, awaiting the answer. She wasn't so sure of her own feelings, and she needed some help before deciding herself. There was that awkward silence again, the one they both hated so much.

Naruto sighed, "S-Sakura…" He faced her, his eyes shining blue, "I-I have, and always will, love you…no matter what." That was it. That was his answer, and Sakura's eyes widened and she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

After ignoring him, hitting him, hating and declining him for dates, he still loved her. That bothered her, "Why?! After all I've done to you! You shouldn't love me, you deserve better." She said to him, and Naruto laughed.

Tucking his knees to his chest, he looked at his teammate; his love. "Sakura, I don't want better…You know, when I was younger there was actually a time where I thought you weren't the one for me," he said, and Sakura frowned a little, "but, I realized that there was no one else that made me happy. I didn't care if you hit me, it only got me to notice that I did things wrong and stuff you didn't like…and when you ignored me, I knew it was because you were blinded by Sasuke's swagger and strength."

"But," he continued, "I waited…I waited for so long, and I finally told you how I feel. Do you feel the same? I'm asking you truthfully…." He asked bluntly. Sakura was definitely being put on the spot, and she held one of Naruto's hands. They were so soft and warm, she loved it…it felt good.

"Naruto, I'm not sure….Honestly…I-I just need time to think, okay?" She pleaded, and Naruto smiled, "Sure." He looked at the time, "Oh, I might as well get you home, okay? Mind if I walk you?" He asked, and Sakura nodded, smiling softly, "I'd love that."

They both stood up, and headed out of the park, and down the street where her apartment was. When they arrived, Sakura turned towards Naruto, who was at the edge of the short stairs that led to her front door.

"Thanks for talking with me Naruto…" Smiling, Naruto waved at her, "No problem…I'd do it again anytime…Goodnight Sakura-chan…" He said, turning to walk away. As Sakura opened her door, she knew that after he had started walking, she heard him say: _'I love you…'_ With that, Sakura closed her door, and locked it.

**Next Morning**

Sakura awoke, and needed to think over a few things. The main thing on her mind was Naruto, and she knew the perfect person to talk to. Heading down the street, dressed in casual attire, Sakura arrived at her mother's clothing store. It was open, luckily and Sakura walked in to see Tairi, her mother, at the counter, reading a magazine.

Seeing her daughter walk in, Tairi closed her magazine and smiled. "Hey honey! What brings you here?" She asked, and Sakura smiled sheepishly, "It's about something that's been on my mind for a long time…I thought it'd be perfect to talk to you first." Tairi looked concerned, and pulled up a chair next to her own, "Sit down and tell me about it then."

Sakura sat and sighed, "Mom, it's about Naruto…" Tairi frowned, but smiled shortly afterwards, "Naruto huh? You are confused about your feelings for him?" She guessed, and Sakura's eyes widened, "How did you know?" She inquired, and Tairi stood, opening a wooden box that was on a shelf under the counter. "It's mother's instinct you know? I was the same way with your father."

"Really?" Sakura asked, surprised. Tairi nodded, "Yep," she took out a photo, and showed it to Sakura, "this is me and your father on our first date." Sakura looked at the photo and noticed a younger version of her mother, who looked surprisingly like Sakura herself, and a brown haired man with blue eyes.

"I wasn't so sure about my feelings for him, so I went to my mom. She told me to go with my heart, so I did…And I ended up choosing the right person." She mused, smiling at her daughter, "So I'm gonna tell you the same thing," she paused, "go with your heart, Sakura. If you don't, you may end up with heartbreak." She finished, and Sakura stood clenching her fist with a smile, "Okay…thanks mom!" She said, leaving the store.

"Oh Sakura!" Tairi called out, and Sakura turned towards her, showing that she was listening. The pink haired woman smiled, "I'm glad you decided to pick him…he'll treat you well. Believe it." She said, and Sakura laughed at her use of Naruto's old punchline, "Thanks again." With that, Sakura left.

Meanwhile, Naruto sat at the same dock that Sakura and him had sat at the night before, and threw a skipping stone; it skipped quickly across the water and went down into the deep end. He stood, and was about to leave, when he saw Sakura running towards him. He rose an eyebrow, "Sakura-chan? What's wrong?" He called out, but she stopped in front of him, slowly wrapping her arms around his neck.

Naruto blushed scarlet, and felt a bit awkward, "S-Sakura! What a-are you doing?!" He stuttered, feeling like Hinata. Sakura put a finger to his lips, "Shut up baka…" With that, she closed her eyes and laid her lips on his. Naruto's eyes widened, but he knew that she was doing this intentionally. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed back, letting his eyes close as well.

The kiss was slow; but passionate. He rubbed her back and placed them at her hips, while she played with his golden hair. They let go, and touched foreheads, laughing. Sakura kept her eyes closed, "That felt so good…" Naruto nodded, "Yeah…it did…so does this mean yes?" He asked, and Sakura nodded, "Yes…definitely….you've brought me closer to love than I ever imagined. I love you, Naruto Uzumaki," she said, "I mean that."

Naruto felt like he was being hit with a ton of bricks; it was all coming so fast, but he liked it. He smiled, and kissed her again, "I love you too…now and forever."

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I felt it was a bit too rushed, and short, but I wanted to save some suspense for later. So please review and fav if you like! :)**


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